Pokémon: The Untold Legends
by DCraw
Summary: Humans have told their own version of history, but have left out key, unnoticed parts. Parts that no one has yet discovered. Many will not believe the tales that I will write here, but for those who will come with an open mind, I write those Untold Legends here. (Rated T for some dark themes and mild violence.)
1. Prologue

Pokémon. According to humans, we worked alongside them as partners and allies ever since we were both placed upon this world. Which that is not entirely false; once upon a time there was a golden age of peace and prosperity. But then again, in those days, Legendaries were unafraid of being in the open, they'd roam wherever they like, even mingling with the humans of this world. But one day, the lust for power began to sweep over groups of trainers. In fear, the Legendaries fled to hiding places, fled back to the heavens, causing humans nowadays to believe that legendary Pokémon are simply myths. Hope was still alive in many hearts, as "Pokémon Masters", such as Red from Pallet Town and Gold from New Bark Town began to defeat these organizations of evil trainers.

But not all of these teams were easily destroyed. Some were looked over… Some were able to grow in size and power… This is my story, as the last known Lugia, the last of my kind, and the fight against the most powerful group of corrupt trainers yet, the Pokémon Hunters, or PokéHunters for short. Even now, the PokéHunters are kept well under the radar in most human lives, because the legendaries who have survived their attacks fight them to this day, to protect the balance in this world. Our story has been untold, and in the history that is recorded by mankind, will probably remain untold. But for those who are willing to hear it, I will pass on these untold legends.

I know some of you are wondering what I mean by "last of my kind." Legendaries are one of a kind, right? Well, that's partially true. SOME Legendary Pokémon are one of a kind, such as Mew and Celebi. But back in the beginning, hundreds of Lugias lived deep within Whirl Island. I was born into the strongest family, my father being the main "Guardian of the Seas." I have been told that when I was born, my power was registered by the elders of my kind through special psychic abilities. The elders couldn't believe my potential, my power seemed like it could easily increase drastically even as a child. Because of this, my parents were forced to send me off to special training classes after I was a year old. Even my father had no power over what the Elders demanded.

I was raised to be a powerful fighter shortly after my birth. While other kids were learning to fly and were just beginning to learn the basics about fighting, I was rapidly progressing to the strength of an adult Lugia warrior. By the time I was 8, I had surpassed everyone at the academy. I was allowed to return to my parents shortly after, a day I thought would never come. I flew off, trying to find something special to bring back to them to surprise them with. I came back with some berries I picked, to hear an eerie hush in our little town. Beginning to assume the worst, I begin to fly home faster, scared more than I had ever been before. I was thankful that the elders weren't watching, they would have surely punished me for showing such weakness and fear.

Before long, I landed next to the house. I grabbed the door handle with my wing, and what I saw inside still haunts me today. Bleeding and broken, I saw my mother lay dead on the floor, two muscular men in black loomed above her. I swallowed and stepped back. This was my first encounter with humans, and I was absolutely terrified. Who were they and what did they want? Why was my mother dead? I saw one of them hit my father, and it was enough to snap me out of this fear. "Stop it!" I screamed, helpless. "What do you want from us?!"

My father looked at me with shock, obviously wanting me to fly away before they could reach me, but I didn't care. I ran to him and hugged him tight, I could feel his bones crunch from what had appeared to be Pokémon attacks that had severely injured him beforehand. "D-Daddy… What's wrong, Daddy? What happened? G-Get up!" I became red in the face, I felt like such a helpless child.

"W-Wind…" he gasped, trying to hide the pain from his son. "Listen to me, son. I'm very proud of you, buddy… I'm very sorry you never got to know your mother and I very well… I never wanted it to end this way. Just know, your mother and I loved you very, very much." I could see tears forming in his eyes, something I thought was impossible for someone as tough as him. Tears streamed down my face, my expression tightening up.

"But Dad… I need you… Don't talk like that, you're gonna be okay!" I cried out, nudging him to move. My father let out a calm, warm chuckle, as if he was trying to soothe me, despite all his pain.

"You're a strong boy, Wind. I know you'll do our race proud…" He whispered as his eyes slowly closed, and all too fast, I felt his body's reassuring warmth leave for good. Anger swelled inside of me unlike ever before. I floated in the air, lightning could be heard outside, striking dangerously near. Suddenly, two orbs of power came out from the dead Lugias, one from my mother and one from my father. They hit my body with a clash and a snap of lightning; water condensing around me, changing my appearance slightly. My eyes glowed with a light blue aura, and two spirit heads, resembling my parents, were situated to the left and right of my neck, composed from wind and water. Lightning snapped and crackled around his body. The Pokémon Hunters began to back up, and summoned their Pokémon to defend themselves. With the new power I had obtained, coupled with the intense training I had endured since I was an infant, I easily took out every Pokémon they through at me with techniques I didn't even know I could use yet.

"You will pay for what you've done…" Echoed a voice that consisted of Wind, his father and his mother. Their power now added to mine in this form, I unleashed a powerful Aeroblast that sent them flying out of Whirl Islands, and to some faraway place, hopefully to never bother us again. Exhausted, the world around me grew fuzzy as I collapsed. I reverted to my normal self; the water from my transformation fell to the floor and the wind suddenly hushed. I awoke several hours later to find a tall, proud figure above me.

Expecting the worst, I backed up and prepared to attack the figure, until he realized who he was looking at. Freezing in awe, embarrassment and respect of my guest, quickly bowed. "S-Sorry, Mr. Arceus, Sir… I-I…" I felt my face burn with a blush as Arceus hushed me.

"It's okay, my boy. I heard about what happened, and I came as soon as I heard." He walked over and put his paw on my shoulder. "Are you okay? When we entered, we saw your parents dead on the scene, you passed out, and your little brother…" he paused, grimacing. My heart fell. I didn't even think about Cloud. What happened to my poor baby brother? "he's been captured alive, in a Pokéball."

_ What in the world is a Pokéball?!_ I thought to myself, frustrated and confused. I didn't care **what** it was, all I knew is I was determined to save my little brother at all costs. "So, the trainers that I defeated…" I began, but couldn't bring myself to finish.

"No, that's the puzzling thing." He began. "We found where the trainers you saw landed, but there were supposedly three that entered and attacked your villiage. We released all the Pokémon that were in their captivity, but none of them were your brother. I'm sorry, but we believe that the third mystery trainer stole him and ran away from his mission."

Today had been the first day I had ever heard about Pokémon trainers, and I already hated them. I hated them for destroying my family. I didn't know how, but I was determined to find my brother and rescue him, one day. Arceus observed me as I was making my mental vow, and let out a warm chuckle. "That's quite the fire in your eyes, kid. But these guys who attacked you and your family, I'm afraid they're merely the beginning. We need to all train for the day we can retaliate and put an end to them. We need someone like you to help us with that, Wind. What do you say?" He shot me a smile that actually seemed sincere.

I paused and thought it over. Was I really going to trust them? I had nowhere else to turn, and if I were to ever fill my father's shoes, I knew I must become stronger, to make sure no other family ever suffers through what I did, ever again.

_**To be continued.**_

_**A/N:**_** Thanks so much for reading, I hope you all enjoyed it. I've had this idea in my head for a very long time, and I really would like to get feedback on it. Please tell me if you like it, if you don't like it, what I can improve, what you like about it, and if you'd like me to continue the story from here. Any and all comments are appreciated. See ya next chapter! **


	2. The Ascent

My time spent under intense training at the academy had taught me self-reliance and independence. The thought of asking for someone's help, especially someone as important as the Leader of Legendaries, really damaged my pride. I knew it was foolish, but I tried to play it off as a mutual gain.

"I'll go with you," the words tasted like poison coming out of my mouth. I looked back at the room where my father's body laid. "After all, it's the responsibility of the Guardian of the Seas to protect the balance of the world to the best of his ability..." my voice quivered the more I finished the sentence. I was taught to never cry, as it showed signs of weakness. It took everything in me to control my emotions.

Arceus frowned at me, but it was different, somehow. I gulped hard, trying to hide the emotional storm going on inside as much as possible. I closed my eyes and focused hard, and then I feel a paw land on my shoulder. "I'm not like your kind. You may be a very powerful child, but I understand you're still a child. You don't have to be so emotionally strong; it's okay to feel sad or angry."

I gulped harder, fighting my urge to let it out. "I'll be fine..." I took several deep breaths, trying to push the whole incident from my mind. "When are we leaving?"

"As soon as you're ready. I think you'll like it on Spear Pillar, the reincarnations of Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres are all around your age. Oh, and a Ho-oh around your age is there, too." Arceus smiled. Lugias are taught to use their psychic abilities to understand their enemies as well as friends, and there was always something off about him.

I looked back one last time, my heart fell, and I cringed from the heartache. "Let's get out of here..."

. . .

We left whirl islands, Arceus carried me on his back, as defeating the PokéHunters left me exhausted. I laid on his back, barely able to hang on as I pondered what had happened.

"It's all so fuzzy... What happened back there? Why do I remember hearing my parents during the battle? How was I able to fend off my attackers? No one else in our defense force could have done that... Not even my dad, from the looks of it..." the thought of never seeing my parents broke my heart all over again. I always imagined that I would really bond with them when I got back; being a psychic Pokémon helped preserve a lot of memories, but the memories of my parents were fading fast.

When we arrived at Spear Pillar, I was astonished by its beauty. The violet surroundings of the highest points were accompanied by a superb view of the stars. It was almost like something out of a painting. I looked around, taking the view in, when suddenly, the three legendary birds jumped out from hiding spots.

"Surprise!" they chimed in unison. I looked at them oddly. A surprise party is definitely not what I wanted; it was almost like an insult. Articuno saw the anger on my face, and spoke for the others.

"Wind, we all heard what happened... We're really sorry." She said, in a calm tone. "I know how you feel, believe it or not... We just wanted to do something special for you, to make you feel better."

I looked at what they had done, and sighed as I looked back to them. "I should be the one apologizing. I know you three meant nothing bad by this. I'm just... Distraught."

Articuno always was a hugger, even when she would first meet someone. If they needed her, she'd be there. It's a shame that she's an Ice type, not many people can stand her hugs, let alone like them. She hugged me tight, chills ran down my spine as her icy wings hit my soft, down covered abdomen.

I hugged her back, shivering a bit. "Thanks, Articuno." I knew enough about ice from my water training to be able to stand the hug without fear of frostbite, but it was apparent that I would need more training in that area.

"Please, call me Krena." she said. "We're going to be living together for a while, we should get aquatinted. Moltres' name is Zeek, and Zapdos' name is Sparky!"

Zapdos blushed. "It is not! I haven't even told you my name!"

Krena winked at Zapdos, knowing he'd react like that. "Maybe you should tell us your name then, Spark."

Zapdos began to say something, but scoffed instead. "Fine. Call me whatever you'd like. Spark is fine, I guess. Just not 'Sparky'. That's such a weak sounding name."

I paused. "Don't you have a name, Spark?"

He sighed. "I do, but I don't like it. I was raised by dragon Pokémon, the name is hard for most people to pronounce." He looked at everyone, noticing that the answer wasn't satisfying their curiosities. "Fine, if you must know, my name is Kaisonocht."

The others stared at him as they tried to register the name in their heads. I finally spoke up. "Kaisonocht? Wow, that's a pretty cool name." I said, to break the silence. "Mind if I call you Kaiser for short?"

Kaiser shrugged. "Like I said, I don't mind being called much of anything, except sparky. That bugs me." He paused for a while. "Kaiser, huh? You know, I kind of like the sound of that." I smiled, knowing I had at least broken the awkward silence over the whole situation.

Arceus, however, was not so impressed. He gave me a glare. "Just because you've graduated from your training academy in Whirl Islands doesn't mean you have the right to slack off and socialize here. We are entering a war here, soldier! You will call each other nothing other than your species names. Why even bother knowing your real names, you're all the last of your kind, anyway."

"I hate to be rude, sir, but I still have friends back home that are alive and well. I'm not the last Lugia." I said, worried. "..Am I?"

Arceus began to say something in a very sharp tone, but then composed himself in nearly the same instant. "Why, you're absolutely right, my dear boy. Forgive me, in my old age, I tend to forget things a lot." He smiled and walked away, nearly leaving, and then stopping suddenly. Without turning around to face us, he addressed us. "Get your sleep tonight. We start in the morning." He started to walk off again, then stopped one last time, this time he turned around. "Oh, and make sure to account your sleeping arrangements for one more Pokémon. A new recruit will be here in the morning."

**A/N: Well, I've gotten so much feedback (and such positive feedback, too!) over the short duration that the fanfic, that I decided to release the next chapter today. This one's quite a bit slower than the last one, but that's because I planned on summarizing the whole experience Lugia had on Spear Pillar instead of explaining it in more depth. I could've fit the whole thing into one big long chapter, but I figure it deserves about two or three. This is the slowest of the chapters, though, so don't worry. The next one will be better, I promise! Chapter Three should come out before the weekend is over, depending on how much homework I have.**


	3. The Newcomer

My night was spent tossing and turning. I couldn't sleep well, how could I? A new legendary being brought up to Spear Pillar only meant that the PokéHunters had tortured another group of legendaries, and that our new recruit had no way of taking care of himself. Anger rose deep inside of me, the skies became windy and cloudy. _I promised myself!_ I kept thinking. _I promised myself this wouldn't happen to anyone else, and I've already failed to keep that promise!_

"Wind..?" I heard a voice whisper. I immediately froze in fear. "No, it's okay, it's me, Articuno. Sorry, I guess we're not supposed to use our actual names, that'll take some getting used to. What's wrong, buddy?"

I had never met Articuno before then, but she was acting as if we had been friends for years. And while part of me liked that, part of me longed for my old friends, too. "Nothing's wrong. What would make you think that?" I asked, trying to hide my pain. She merely gestured over to the window.

"I don't think anyone except you or Arceus can cause that. Something is obviously hurting you for all that power to be coming out of you." She said. She placed her wing on mine, and looked deep into my eyes with an unusually warm, caring stare. I relented, and exhaled with a deep sigh, and told her why I agreed to come to Spear Pillar. She nodded and listened to every word I said carefully.

"I see…" she began. "Lugia, honey, I hope you realize that none of what happened was your fault. We couldn't have stopped it even if we were there. Who knows? This might be for the best."

I wanted to argue back, but I paused and thought on her words for a while. "I guess you're right…" I sighed. "Even if you weren't, what good will torturing myself over my mistakes do?"

She smiled at me, and patted my back. "I'm here for you, buddy. Just come find me if you need me."

"Thanks, Articuno." She left my room, after which I sighed and laid down, falling asleep several minutes later.

. . .

I woke up from a nightmare, something that doesn't usually happen to my kind. I was being engulfed by flame by a shadowy figure. It wasn't Moltres, the figure looked much different. I somehow knew it had to do with what would happen today. I got up and left my room, looking around to see if the others had gotten up already. The suspense was killing me. I left the inner chambers of Spear Pillar, where we slept, and went outside to the top to find Arceus. Instead, I just saw a red bird about my size, gazing at the sunrise. His feathers glowed a rainbow of colors against the sun, that kinda beauty made me envious, to say the least.

The figure turned his head partway towards me, he had obviously noticed me. I jumped a little, still jumpy from my restless night. "What do you want?" the figure said, coldly.

It made sense now. That must be the new recruit Arceus was talking about. "I-I just wanted to say hi." I tried to explain. Really, I didn't plan on seeing anyone new up here; I thought Arceus would introduce us all at the same time, like he did with me. The figure turned around partway again, and then faced me. He sighed.

"I guess that's a good enough reason." He said. "I'm Ho-oh. I heard we're not supposed to use our actual names, so I guess that makes you Lugia, right?"

A Ho-oh. Our kind never really liked Ho-ohs, but I've always been fascinated by their beauty and inner fire. Of course, I'd never tell that to anyone back home. "Y-yeah. So why are you here?" I asked. "N-Not that I don't want you here, I just…" I couldn't figure out the right words.

He looked back at the sunset. "My family died last night." He began. "The PokéHunters attacked us, it had been happening for several weeks before hand. We just were the last to go. I'm the last surviving Ho-oh… At least, that's what Arceus tells me. Halfway through the attack, I lost consciousness."

I was shocked by the similarities in our stories. It became clear to me at this point that the PokéHunters aren't just after power; there is some method to this madness. Someone, whether it's a human or a Pokémon, is profiting from our misery. I pushed the thoughts from my mind, I'd deal with it later. "I'm really sorry to hear that. We've all went through something similar, at least me and the three legendary birds."

"Yeah, so I've heard." He replied, coldly. He took a deep breath, which sounded almost like what I do when I'm trying to change my mood. "I'm sorry for acting like a jerk. You're actually a really nice guy, which is surprising for what I've heard about Lugias."

"Wow, really?" I was surprised that he had a good opinion of me. "Thanks! You're pretty cool, too."

Arceus walked up behind us, I didn't even hear him coming. "Getting along, boys?" he chuckled. "You two seem to be hitting it off quite well, considering how the Guardians of Sea and Sky usually react."

He smiled, but didn't quite seem sincere. "We're about to have a meeting. It's in the same main room where you met the three birds last night, Wind. Show Ho-oh the way."

"R-Right." We both leapt into the air, and flew down the stairway. There, the other 4 legendaries could be seen. Arceus looked at the five of us, and then began.

"Ho-oh will be joining us for our training sessions." He announced with a booming voice. "Let's see how long your friendships last. Over the next few years, you will be training with one goal in mind. At the end of the training, you will have a tournament to decide who is the strongest of the strong, who is the leader of the five legendary birds."

**A/N: I'm sorry about this chapter being shorter than the last two, but it came out relatively faster than the others! The reason it's shorter, though, is because I can't decide how to space out the chapters, and if I kept going, the next decent stopping point would've been a while longer. Anyway, the next chapter will be out soon, but I'm not making promises like I did last time. Keep sharing this, following, and reviewing. Your reviews and follows are what keeps the fast updates happening! If you've already reviewed on a previous chapter, review this one. Again, thanks for reading. You guys rock!**


	4. Preparing for the Worst

My heart broke. I was just beginning to make friendships, even with a Ho-oh, we were told the whole reason we were here: to test who was the strongest.

The next few years of my life were fairly uneventful. My days were spent training until my body was about to break under the pressure. Some days I would dive to the deepest trenches of the ocean, to train under heavy pressure and gravity. Other days, my training would be enemy based. I went and submerged myself in water from Antarctica to get used to ice attack induced hypothermia, or I would train inches close to lava floors in volcanos, helping me learn evasion and dealing with burns. I even flew through dangerous thunderstorms to figure out how to deflect them.

All of these had similar strategies. I learned an essential survival technique would be mastering my control over water. I had studied in my free time I had at the academy, where I had learned about a few ancient Lugia techniques. Improvising from that knowledge, I learned how to bend water to my will. I found how to draw water from the air around me, how to surround myself in a bubble of water, and even heal myself with that water. And if need be, I learned how to fire a novice hydro pump. The attack wouldn't be very effective by itself, but it would serve as a distraction and as an emergency source of water.

Water could act as an emergency shield from fire, could protect me from the ice attacks of Articuno, and if used correctly, be detached from myself when lightning struck me, and fired back at Zapdos or another legendary bird. There were many risks with my plans. I had to think of backups for everything.

That's where my nights came into play. While everyone else would be sleeping, I spent as much of my night as I could afford meditating. Not only did it train my psychic abilities, but it also helped me think of strategies I never considered. And it helped me think of things that were more important than training.

"Poor guys..." I thought to myself. "We've been training so long and so hard, and none of them are used to it. I know Arceus wants to test our leadership, but leadership is more than power and control. I should go encourage them tomorrow."

The reception of my words had mixed feelings. Articuno and Zapdos thanked me for the encouragement, but feared punishment from Arceus. Then Moltres and Ho-oh completely rejected my sympathies and help. I couldn't blame them; Arceus was playing with their minds. Times like these, I was glad Arceus left me alone for the most part. He knew how much discipline I had, and the abilities I had. Frequently, he'd pull me aside to verify if I was spending my time wisely. His expressions were hard to read, but he never had anything negative to say. Every time, it was my personal goal to catch him off guard, so that he couldn't hide his astonishment.

...

The first year of training went by fast. I spent it mastering my abilities on water, with psychic training where I could fit it in. The next year was completely devoted to psychic training and Lugia specific techniques, like Aeroblast. A frequent exercise would involve me lifting a heavy mass of water or earth from the bottom of the ocean with my psychic abilities, and blasting it with an Aeroblast, as far and as hard as possible. But a growing eeriness grew over me. Would our tournament be one on one, or would it be a free for all? I had to prepare for all circumstances. I just hoped that he didn't make the rules too dangerous. I didn't want anyone to die. The thought tore at my heart.

During the second year of training, my meditation revolved around how I would get around an out of hand match. My only option was obvious. I had to put my all into every attack, finish the fight and their will to continue as fast as possible.

Times like these I wondered if the Legendary powers of Lugias existed. A myth was passed down from generation to generation, about a chosen hero of the Lugias. Drawing on the power and knowledge of his ancestors, this Lugia would be able to fight off any adversary with ease.

Then, my memories of my parents' death were suddenly clear; I remembered everything. I understood why I heard their voices. It wasn't rage or hallucinations. I had done it; I had claimed that legendary transformed state.

The few years we had left, I spent training everything I could think of; a sort of comprehensive schedule, if you will. Frequently, I tried to replicate the emotions I was going through, to transform, but it was no use. After days of meditation, I realized that my powers were too great for me to handle, and would only reveal themselves again if they were absolutely essential.

Arceus came up to me one night. He watched me curiously during one of my breaks. "Are you alright?" he asked, in a very emotionless tone.

"I'll be fine... That last attack I did just drained me a little." I said, my breathing was heavy and slow, my face drenched with sweat.

Arceus chuckled. "So I see. Mind showing me what you can do, then?" Arceus' stare was skeptical. He must have thought I was weak for letting one attack drain me.

"Sure." I smirked. Today would be the day that I tore off that curtain that hid his inner emotions. I raised my wings and my eyes glowed in a bright purple as the earth began to shake. Arceus shook his head.

"So you can make a magnitude 7 earthquake. Honestly I'm qui-" his words stopped mid syllable as he saw a mass of earth bigger than Mt. Coronet, surrounded by a huge mass of water. I lowered my wings, the mass staying in the air with little effort. I glanced over at Arceus. His expression showed shock, but quickly hid. "Nice trick, Wind, but we all know that's using all of your power. If I hit you with an attack right now, you'd be defenseless."

My expression didn't change. "Try it, then."

He growled, and unleashed a powerful rainbow beam, headed right for my head. I turned my head, the mass of earth and water barely making a ripple as I unleashed a full powered Aeroblast. The beam was not only stopped, but my Aeroblast wasn't even slowed down as it collided with Arceus. He fell to the ground, gasping for air, as I slowly lowered the water and earth I had held up, and walker over to Arceus.

"Forgive me, Arceus. I thought you'd dodge." I felt bad in some ways, but part of me was happy to hit him good. I knew the others would've been proud.

Arceus wobbled up on his feet. "I could've dodged it if I wanted..." It didn't take psychic powers to see the lies in that. "I wanted to see your power in an attack. Well done."

"Thank you, sir." I said. I was ecstatic on the inside, that was his first compliment yet to me. "See you next week?"

"Actually, you won't." he started to walk away. "Get your rest, the tournament is the day after tomorrow. Oh, today's your birthday, isn't it? Happy 15th birthday, Wind."

I was confused, but he was right. It really had been 7 years since he picked me up that dreadful, dreadful day. And to make matters worse, I had to fight the best friends I had left, two days from now.

I sat down to meditate, but before I had even begun, I leaned back and fell asleep instantly.

**A/N: Sorry for the late addition. This chapter was really awkward to write, because I had planned for this to be the last chapter of his childhood, but I didn't want to skip over the training too much. Next chapter will be the tournament.**


	5. The Tournament

I awoke from a horrible nightmare, jumping so high and so hard into the air that the ground cracked under me. I shuddered at the intense realness of my dream, as I fell down to the ground and landed gracefully, kneeling and placing a wing in front of me to absorb the fall.

I looked to the east; the faint glow of the morning sun was becoming visible. Arceus would probably begin collecting the legendaries in an hour or two, meaning that any sleep past this point would be hurtful rather than helpful. I yawned, and sat upright, beginning my meditation. I began to think about my dream, and what it meant.

The first thing I remembered about it as it played back through my mind's eye, was that my greatest fear of the tournament came true; we had a free for all. But there was something even worse than that; the tournament was geared so that the others would end up teaming up against me. I began dodging attacks, glancing over to Arceus, who I could tell was enjoying the show. "Come on, Wind!" he mocked. "Show us that power you used to defeat that team of PokéHunters!"

I struggled to bring out the power of the Legendary Lugia, but I was careless and focused too much energy on the transformation and not enough on trying to block any attack coming. I screamed out in pain as a tremendously powerful thunder attack zapped my entire body, paralyzing me in the air. The other three birds join in on the attack, and I awoke as soon as their attacks made contact.

It is said when a Lugia has nightmares, they're visions of the future, visions that may or may not come to pass. The visions are usually a way for the Guardian of Seas to prevent any imbalances in the world. While I had thought about a free for all, I never imagined anything like what I had dreamed about, and decided it was time to think of a plan for that scenario.

I spent an hour meditating, when I opened my eyes and looked up. "Dad… I wish you were here. I know I'm not supposed to be afraid, but I can't help it." I punched the ground. "I know you're still looking over me… You helped me once. I know I shouldn't ask for it, but I might need your help again today. Please… Watch over me carefully today."

I looked down, and saw that Arceus was coming this way. I took a few deep breaths to regain my composure, and stood up. He looked me over with an expressionless face, and then finally spoke. "My, you're up bright and early. I hope you slept well, the tournament will begin shortly. Come, I'll take you to the others."

I had hoped for more time to mentally prepare myself for the fights, but I knew arguing with Arceus wouldn't get me anywhere good. I simply nodded and followed him. My heart was pounding, and my mind was racing with all sorts of possibilities. What if the legendaries have trained harder than me? What if Arceus taught the others tricks that I haven't even heard of? My heart fell to the floor, but of all the things that could've happened, my father popped into my mind.

Every now and then, my family would write me letters. My father would rarely write me letters, though; which was expected, as his obligations as Guardian of the Seas came first. One day, however, I remember getting a letter from him. His letters were usually along the lines of "I'm very proud of you, but you need to do better." But this letter was different. It had more emotion than what he usually showed.

I can't remember the exact wording, but my father began the letter by apologizing for how rarely he wrote me, and that he really was proud of everything I had accomplished. But one part of the letter still rings out in my head to this day. "They probably teach you that Lugias are a proud race of Pokémon, and that we simply cannot lose, am I right?" he began his second paragraph. "Well, that's not entirely true. While most of the time we win our fights, sometimes the best teacher is experience and humility in loss. The important thing is not if you win or lose. Sometimes, it's HOW you win or lose. Never lose sight of who you are."

I never fully understood the meaning of those words until now. The most important thing about this fight is to fully gauge how far we've all progressed over the past seven years, not only in terms of power, but in terms of character. I knew that no matter what, I needed to do the right thing.

…

We met on the top of Spear Pillar, the morning sun barely above us as the other legendary birds watched me with an eerie concentration. I gulped, worried about what was going through their minds. I decided that I would find out soon enough, and I took a deep breath to calm myself. I began my usual warm up routine, which involved meditation, stretches, and light psychic workouts.

Arceus finally spoke. "Today, all of you will find out who is the best suited leader of the legendary birds. You have all trained diligently for this day, and I am proud of each one of you. I would like to make you all leaders, but sadly I cannot." Arceus looked over all of us, and continued. "As you know, Wind has been training by himself the whole time, away from the group, while the rest of you have been under my heavy supervision. This is due to his previous training and proven battle experience. To make this a fair fight to the rest of you, this tournament will not have rounds. Instead, this will be a free-for-all match."

Just like my dream had warned me. Arceus must have made them resent the fact that I didn't have to put up with his training methods. I wished I could've consoled them, but that would have to wait until after the battle. Arceus continued his announcement. "Please make your way to the battleground. Best of luck to all of you."

I stepped forward and got on one corner of the arena-like battleground. I carefully observed everyone's movements and actions, and it became painfully obvious that each one of them had targeted me as their first victim, but none more than Ho-oh. I frowned as I looked into his eyes. Those glassy, anger driven eyes that screamed determination. It was obvious that he wouldn't stop until I was down for the count, and maybe not even then.

Using my psychic powers, I could tell that they all stood a good chance of defeating me at my current strength if they all teamed up on me. Brute force alone wouldn't win this, unless somehow I tapped back into that legendary power again. I had no doubt that this was Arceus' plan all along, but I was worried that I might not be able to use it on command.

"Let the match…" I barely heard echo out. I shook my head to clear my mind of those bad thoughts. I knew somehow, someway I would win. Maybe not according to Arceus and the tournament rules, but I would win deep down. No matter if I won or lost, I'd do it the right way.

"Begin!" Without thought, I immediately jumped into the air, where a lightning bolt had attempted to strike me. Articuno flew up and began to fire an Ice beam at me, which I was able to stop in its tracks. Using the powers I had developed, I quickly melted the ice and used the water in the air to create a water shield around me. I levitated around, studying everyone.

"Baaad move, water boy." Zapdos shouted as he began to fire a Thunder attack at me. I smirked. _Alright, just as I practiced._ I thought to myself, as I quickly moved the mass of water above my head and slung it at Articuno, which electrocuted her, causing her to fall down to the ground in pain. I grimaced; I hated to hurt her, but I couldn't risk another surprise attack. I looked down at her, she seemed to be down for the count.

"You… You BASTARD!" Moltres roared as he let out a torrent of fire. _Now what?!_ I cursed under my breath. _I have no other choice, I guess…_ I thought as I began to concentrate. The flames had finally hit me, when I unleashed a decently powerful Hydro Pump at the flames. Most of the water had evaporated on contact, but some of it also hit Moltres, causing serious damage. Upon contact, he fell to the ground, and I flinched in pain as the burns on my face began to drain my health.

"Hmph. I had expected more from such someone like you. Pity." I heard from behind me. Fire began to crackle, as I immediately dove down at the ground. It was Ho-oh firing a Sacred Fire attack, which ended up hitting Zapdos. He screamed out in pain. "HEY! Watch it, bird brain! I thought we agreed to gang up on him!"

"Well, you should've gotten out of the way! Besides, if you had hit him in the beginning like we had planned, you wouldn't have gotten burned! It's your fault!" Ho-oh defended. Zapdos growled, and the two wouldn't stop bickering. I used this time I had to recollect the water that I had expelled to make the Hydro pump, and began to treat some of my burns. The water felt cold on the various burns, giving the healing technique even more relief as I began to feel my energy rise.

I looked over at those two, and they were going all out against each other, ending with Zapdos slamming into Ho-oh driving him to the ground. It was apparent that he had no will to continue, and had given up… But that wasn't good enough for Zapdos. I could tell he wouldn't be satisfied until Ho-oh was finished off. My mind raced, and before I knew it, I dove down to protect Ho-oh. The electrocution hurt much worse than I had ever imagined; every muscle in my body tightened in agony. When it finally stopped, I was drained of energy, panting and holding my left wing with my right.

Ho-oh was obviously astonished. "I… I didn't ask for your help." He finally said. "You're a fool for doing that. Now Zapdos will win!"

I stepped away, looking back at him, but keeping an eye out for Zapdos. "You honestly think that winning some contest like this is what's important right now? Wake up!" I scolded. "You could've been killed, and for what, a stupid title? A true leader isn't judged solely by his power, but by his love and compassion. There are more important things in our lives than killing each other over something so trivial. A true leader brings everyone together, not divide. And even if I do lose this, at least I have stood up for what I believed in; and at least I didn't lose you today, too."

I could tell my monologue had really affected the others, but Ho-oh especially. He was nearly in tears over the whole thing, I could tell that he was beating himself up inside for believing what Arceus said about me. But I didn't blame him; I knew it wasn't his fault.

Just as I thought the conflict was over, I felt a searing pain burn across my back. I fell to the ground, squirming in agony as I looked up to see Moltres. By his expression, I could tell what I had said had angered him. "You're not going to sway me with your constant lies!" he roared. "I don't care what you say, I will defeat you all and I will take my place as ruler of the legendary birds!"

The water vapor had been drained from around me, and the nearest source of water would take me too long to gather. To make matters worse, the effects of dehydration from the flames and the Hydro pump I used earlier were starting to set in. I knew that his next attack wouldn't be deflectable, but it was okay; I was happy with my effort. I knew that no matter what, I had done my best. My only regret was not pulling everyone together in a different way.

I began to flinch, expecting this next attack to be the end of me. I opened my eyes again, amazed as I saw Ho-oh stand above me; he was absolutely exhausted, but still took a battle stance. "What are you doing, get up!" he shouted. "This isn't over yet. If you really mean what you say, you've got to help me fight, right here and now. I can handle Moltres, go fight Zapdos."

I wobbled up to my feet, my spirits lifted. "Sure thing," I managed to finally say. "Thanks, Ho-oh."

I floated up to Zapdos, as I looked below, seeing the others fight. "So, what do you say? Are you still going to continue?"

Zapdos paused for a second. "I agree with what you said, but I'm going to need some convincing. Not to mention, Arceus is watching, and would be surprised if we all just quit. So, how about one last fight? But before that, I think it's only fair that you should heal up. That's right; I knew what you were doing earlier. It's fine, I wouldn't want to fight you when you're already this drained. That wouldn't be very fair."

I carefully drew water from a lake below, and began to form a circle of water around me, healing my wounds within a few seconds. "I'd offer you the same treatment, but I've never tried it on an electric type, I don't know if it would hurt you or not."

"But why would you bother? It's not like Ho-oh did any real damage. I'll be fine." Our fight finally began; I flew around him, dodging a bolt of lightning. I fired a psybeam in an attempt to counter attack, which he dove underneath and rammed into me. The attack caught me off guard, and he began to discharge a large amount of electricity, which directly jumped into me; the water from earlier was only amplifying the power of Zapdos' attack. Without thinking, I quickly dispersed the water around me and kicked Zapdos away, and closed the water back around Zapdos; which was met with brilliant yellow flashes as Zapdos' electricity was used against him. I absorbed the water, and began to pant heavily, the constant electrical current caused burns where Zapdos had touched me.

"Man, you're much better than I gave you credit for," I panted. "I haven't been this excited for a fight in a long time."

The drenched electric bird panted too, having a hard time flying with his wet wings. "Yeah, I could say the same thing about you." He panted. "But I'm not going down this easily!" he fired a thunder attack with all his might, which I met with my Aeroblast. The two attacks clashed, causing loud snaps and a bright white light to be produced. Neither of us wanted to give in, it was really a great fight.

_I can't keep this up much longer… I've got to put everything I've got into this attack, or he'll beat me for sure!_ I thought to myself as I roared with a tremendous power, causing the other two birds that were still fighting to stop in their tracks. Zapdos tried to hold off the attack, but it was no use; my Aeroblast easily tore through his attack and afterwards, him. Zapdos was out cold before he had even landed; arceus dragged both Zapdos and Articuno out of the way, so the rest of us could continue without fear of those two getting hurt.

I flew down, and watched those two go at it. Neither of them giving up, neither of them letting in, but I could tell Ho-oh was really getting tired. I flew next to him. "It's time to finish this, together. Are you with me?" I asked, both of us panting heavily. Ho-oh nodded, and we faced Moltres.

"Two against one? That hardly seems fair." He complained. "Well, whatever. Defeating you both at the same time merely makes my victory more unquestionable. Now, both of you, DIE!" Moltres began charging a Fire Blast bigger than I had ever seen; if either of us got hit by it, we were done for. I looked at Ho-oh. "We've got to combine our signature moves. You've already been taught Sacred Fire, right?"

"Y-Yeah, but you realize nothing like this has ever been tried, right? What if this backfires?" Ho-oh asked.

"Do we really have another option?" We both looked at each other for a split second, nodding simultaneously. We backed up from Moltres, each of us charging our respective attacks. _Father… I know you're watching over me, even from the other side. I promise you, I won't let you down!_

Moltres let out a huge wave of fire headed straight towards us; which was met with nearly synchronous attacks by Ho-oh and me. The three attacks clashed, but our combined attacks were no match for Moltres. Sacred Fire and Aeroblast fused together; it formed a white flame tornado like projectile that cut through Moltres' attack almost instantly, and ended up knocking him out.

Panting, Ho-oh and I look at each other, and we shook wings. "That was really fantastic fighting out there, Ho-oh. I'm impressed." I complimented him. "I don't know how things would've turned out if I hadn't had you help me.

"Don't mention it." Ho-oh shrugged, a bit embarrassed. He wasn't used to the positive feedback, it had been a long time since someone complimented his battling techniques. "I'm just sorry that we all ganged up on you. We just thought…" he sighed. I merely patted him on the shoulder and gave him a warm smile. The past battle didn't matter, I was just glad that it was finally over.

Arceus was clearly frustrated at the whole spectacle; his plan had seemed to be to separate us rather than to bring us together. When Ho-oh and I landed, he walked up to us, looking like he was about to fight us himself, but before he did anything, he suddenly calmed down.

"Congratulations, you both fought very well. Lugia, your intelligence is beyond your years; you were able to see beyond the obvious and discover that the tournament was to test other aspects of leadership other than pure power. I believe the decision is obvious, you will lead the legendary birds." He patted me on the shoulder. "Come, first we'll treat everyone's wounds, then we'll have a feast to celebrate. This could be the beginning of a new golden age of the world."

Arceus began to lead us to an underground room in Spear Pillar, when I heard something that I thought was just my imagination._ Even though the tournament ended differently than I had planned, it wasn't a total failure. Lugia still has one weakness I've learned today, _Arceus thought. _His loved ones._

I didn't trust Arceus fully, but I wasn't ready to believe he was the kind to intentionally harm us. I rejected the sound, telling myself that it was just some paranoia that was lingering from the battle. But for the rest of the night, I had a gut feeling that I needed to go home, that my people needed me.

Looking back, I would give anything to have caved to that feeling. I wish I would've been there to protect them.

**A/N: School's been kicking my butt, so my updates will be less frequent. Not to mention, due to the length of this chapter, editing has been a hassle; I apologize in advance for any grammatical or spelling errors. Also, please don't forget to review, favorite, and follow me and my story, that stuff really makes a difference in when these updates happen. The next chapter will be the last of Lugia's childhood, so stay tuned.**


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